A Gorgeous Nightmare
by Diosa60
Summary: Haruka and Michiru go forth into the Marine Cathedral, wary, both under the impression they understand the tasks they are about to undertake within. What they don't understand is the sacrifice they constantly spoke of, will affect them both specifically. Leads into their developing relationship post Cathedral events. Slight spoilers. Oneshot.


A/N: So, this is the second story I've done on here, and it is again about my favorite couple in this particular series. I really appreciated the feedback on the other piece I did; I think I made an improvement on this one, but I'm sure you folks will let me know.

In addition...HarukaXMichiru = girly love. If you disagree with it, the back button is all there.

This takes place after the events at the Marine Cathedral with Eudial; If you're not quite there yet, beware...slight spoilers in here but nothing crazy.

Otherwise, enjoy, and if you like my story enough please leave a review; otherwise I will be posting similar garbage over and over again with limited opportunity of improving.

Disclaimer: unchanging since the last published story; I have no ownership rights over Sailor Moon, their characters, etc etc etc...this is FANfiction.

* * *

It was like a dream…

So calming, lucid, and worry-free; there was a warm light about this place, indescribable to her. It was beautiful…The light, though calming and warm, was blinding upon Haruka first opening her eyes. She welcomed it…she let it wash over her body; only to see the afflictions she had received in the cathedral yielded no scarring; no pain. _What a relief…_Haruka said mentally. _To think, this pretty face…_

The smile Haruka had been developing then came to a screeching halt on a stunning realization; she realized by looking around she was no longer with her partner; _Michiru.._. It then became clear what realm was dealt to Haruka.

_Michiru! _She screamed to the heavens, but it elicited no response; not even an echo.

_This is hell_, Haruka thought to herself. _Pure, living, breathing, hell._

Immediately, Haruka was crestfallen. The light was still there, the warmth of it surrounding her, but it could no longer soothe her. It cradled her, and reached to comfort the soldier in her solitude, but it yielded nothing from the woman in terms of relief any longer.

_How could it come to this? Did we not carry out the mission as was required? The talismans appeared…in a manner unexpected. But still…who have we failed to be torn from one another like this?_

She then considered what Michiru and Haruka had been telling one another throughout their desperate search for the talismans. _They must go on without the other, should one fail_. They knew it, they couldn't forget it. It was their code; their one and only.

But…

When Haruka saw Michiru writhing in agony against the barrage of bullets in the hall of the Marine Cathedral, collapsing in utter anguish, only to rise again to attempt to reach Haruka; knowing well she would only welcome further injury, a pain gripped Haruka's heart that when coupled with a fear…_A fear of what?_ Haruka thought.

_The fear of losing the one you love, with the possibility of never uttering the words to one another…you damn idiot._ Of never sharing a romantic kiss, a ride along the beach, of hand holding; of the love, that could have been, but will never be.

Haruka shook her head excessively, to prevent the onslaught of tears to come;

_Gods…what have I done!? _She knew even if she had opted to not turn Eudial's gun on herself; it would have been a life not worthy of living any longer. The world they fight to save, to preserve…is nothing, without her partner; her confidant. The woman she sought to share everything with.

The soldier floated, simply wallowing in the sorrow pool she drew for herself.

_What else is there to do in hell but reflect on regret?_

* * *

The pain, the agonizing riddling pattern of the bullets from the cathedral…Michiru examined herself, and realized she was in a place void of pain, however dominant the memory of the injury was.

_My wounds…_Michiru thought, perplexed. _Are no more…?_ She couldn't bring herself to understand why; _what's happened?_

She opened her eyes to a brilliant light flooding whatever realm she was in; it enveloped her like a protective coat. It had the soothing feeling as when she put a seashell to her ear. Or better, when she walked barefoot in the sands of the sea with her other half…hand in hand. Gazing at each other deeply; Haruka, showing that smile Michiru loved best about her. _Haruka…._

_Haruka!?_

Michiru didn't even have to look at her surroundings; her intuition served her well, always. She knew wherever she had landed, her companion was not here. She had no sense of the wind in this place; which meant Haruka was in another place.

The soothing memory that lingered of Haruka and Michiru's walk along the beach was immediately replaced with an intense feeling of dejection. _My Haruka…How could this happen_?

They knew it would come to a point of separation, they prepared for it; _but for eternity?_ _This place isn't a dream…it's a nightmare; A hellish nightmare with a pretty face_. Michiru fell to her knees and simply curled up, bringing her knees to her chest, unable to shed a tear because of the entity that attempted to soothe her.

Michiru could only place regret at the time.

_Do I regret walking into the cathedral, knowing well I could lose Haruka? _She thought on this, but disagreed. _Or perhaps my inability to just sit there and let Eudial take my heart crystal, rather than seek _Haruka_? No…I regret not summoning the courage to do anything more than flirt; or tease. I regret not staring at Haruka enough to capture her true beauty_…even though Michiru knew well she could draw her partner's image in her sleep. _It's just…Haruka…_She wished she could unleash a sea of tears at this time, and cursed the warming entity that prevented her from doing so. _Haruka…_

"I love you."

* * *

When she came to, Haruka was in regular street attire; _more like pajamas,_ thought Haruka. _Wait! Pajamas!? Oh thank the gods!_ Haruka sprang up, instantly regretting that having been reminded of her injuries incurred in the cathedral… "Dammit," she cursed to no one in particular, and resumed her resting pose on her sofa. _Our home…_ she took a moment to evaluate her home. The inner sailor soldiers hovered over her like she was an insect under a magnifying glass. But, these girls were only partly a reassuring sight. She required the image of the aquamarine beauty to be completely put at ease; her face, her voice; anything.

"Haruka?" called one of them softly. She refocused her vision in an attempt to see her friends, but it came slowly. She simply rested her eyes once more, and allowed herself to drift off…but not before…

"Michiru..?" she called for her; concerned she had not heard her beautiful voice yet. She could be in a room of hundreds of people and recognize that sweet melodic voice anywhere.

"She's ok, Haruka." One stated confidently. "She's resting in the other room. Your partner will be fine."

A huge weight had dropped off Haruka; _I don't care what happens to me…please…just let her be okay. That's all I needed to kno_w. The pain surged through Haruka's broken body…_damn this mortal frame_, she thought to herself.

Feeling chipper, though still in an incredible amount of pain, Haruka left the soldiers with one more thing before submitting to sleep once more.

"You're welcome." Haruka mumbled to no one specifically.

"What?" came the response from a female voice. "I said you're…welcome." She could just hear the confusion.

"For what, Haruka?" asked one person, quizzically. Haruka gave them her trademark smile, but only a half-hearted one. "Well one of you…undressed me…apparently." the girls, young at heart, took a moment to take it in…"She's okay," said one; Makoto. This cued the laughter, from many different people. With that, Haruka let herself drift back to sleep.

* * *

"She's fighting it," muttered a concerned Ami, as she tended to Haruka's wounds. "I wonder why?" Rei inquired. "It's almost as if she's afraid to close her eyes."

Haruka could hardly be complacent enough to just let herself go like that. She intensely feared the thought of leaving to that warm and lucid realm once more, without the possibility of that enchanting, beautiful woman by her side again. _Michiru…_

_Please don't take me back there. I just need to see that beautiful face, and tell her…how little this life is worth living if I don't have her to worship every day. _She opened her eyes for a brief moment, after struggling against sleep for hours.

"Ami?" inquired Haruka.

"Yes, Haruka? Are you well?" a few of the girls crowded in, but Setsuna ushered them to keep their distance. "Please…" she began, but trailed off and closed her eyes again. "Save your strength, Haruka. Your bodies need to regenerate naturally." Ami chided her. Haruka just shook her head lightly and attempted to flutter her eyes open once more. "Please…tell Michiru…" she paused for a moment, revealing the solemnly silent moment as friends kneeled by her side to pay heed.

"Tell her…I won't ever flirt with any girl ever…again."

They all simply looked at one another, and broke the serious nature of the moment with laughter once more. Haruka, for being in such a sorry broken state, sure knew how to rouse a room with laughter.

"She's definitely okay." Minako confirmed with a shake of her head.

* * *

Michiru awoke to the similar light of the realm she had just been at, and immediately grew concerned and scared. _Please, no…no more._ She attempted to rise and re-asses her new surroundings.

Michiru recognized she was lying on a bed…_whose bed…is this?_ Recognizing the intricate, beautiful floral pattern on the comforter that covered her, she focused her eyes and sat up even. _This is my bed…?_ She looked down at her clothing. _My pajamas?_

"If we would have let Usagi dress you, you would have ended up in Haruka's clothing. Isn't she a dolt?" said Rei with glimmer of a smile, still concerned for this beautiful woman in front of her. "Rei…"

Rei already knew based on Haruka's initial question what Michiru's would be.

"She's resting in the living room." Rei replied with a knowing smile. "Ami! Please come here, Michiru has awoken." Rei called out quietly enough to not disturb Michiru, but audibly enough to summon Ami. A quick shuffle of feet proceeded and Ami lightly knocked before entering. She gave a polite bow, and went to Michiru's bedside.

"Michiru?" Ami started. "Yes…Ami?" the aquamarine haired woman responded weakly.

She wasn't quite sure how to say it…but Haruka insisted upon this, and a million other things she hardly had the energy to be suggesting, be said to Michiru before they reunited.

"Umm…please excuse me…but Haruka has a message." Rei only grinned, not just at poor awkward Ami, but the message she already knew; seeing this made Michiru smile brilliantly. "…again, I apologize, immensely…this is quite awkward…" Ami continued to stall. Rei just rolled her eyes. "Ami, out with it. Michiru can't get up to see Haruka, and we can't move either of them. Just say it." Rei insisted urgently.

Ami nodded in agreement; besides, they were Haruka's words, not her own.

"Haruka said…she promises…never to flirt with any girls….EVER again." They both waited for Michiru's reaction to this, which initiated a silence.

To be broken by Michiru's soft laughter; and then Rei and Ami's. They both held a hand of Michiru's assuredly. Ami continued to check Michiru's vitals, and observe the beauty to drift in and out of sleep. Resisting continuously in the same way the handsome blonde in the other room had.

The soldiers all were lacking severely on sleep; it didn't help that Haruka and Michiru were hardly capable of sleeping for some unknown fear lurked where they slept. Ami, being the medical protégé on deck, couldn't pinpoint it, but Setsuna had an idea of the realm, in her infinite wisdom, that they had visited. What she didn't know was that the environment that had existed in was heaven in itself; it was the lacking presence in each that constituted the places as hell.

Haruka without Michiru; Michiru without Haruka. The sea and the wind without the promise of each other.

Eventually, Setsuna sent the girls home to rest on their own terms. Ami promised to return occasionally to perform her medical duties; Setsuna thanked her, and dismissed them all. Almost all of them refused immediately, but Setsuna stressed the private nature of Haruka and Michiru's reunion; placing it in an aspect they could all associate with; love.

At this, the soldiers resigned and returned to their residences to recuperate their own wounds.

It would not be until several days later, after the visits from Ami tending to Michiru and Haruka's wounds, that Haruka would be the first of them to stand. She couldn't bear to go another hour without at least seeing Michiru. She cared not if she collapsed immediately after; she might as well just from the sight of her heavenly face.

"Setsuna?" Haruka called out, as she stood gradually. "Oh, Haruka. You seem to be doing well now, is that right?" Haruka took a moment to examine her wounds; she would have hardly ever known they existed due to the lack of physical scarring.

She questioned this internally, but subconsciously knew the answer. _Perks of the soldier life, _she thought in her mind. "Yes, thanks to all of you…but I presume you've sent the others away?" Haruka inquired. Setsuna nodded in response.

"Would you like some tea, Haruka?" Setsuna offered politely. Haruka shook her head but gave a look of thanks. "No thank you." Setsuna understood what needed to happen now.

"Haruka, I'll be on my way now. You know what to do if something comes along." Setsuna always knew the right thing to say; Haruka knew this, even as little as she knew of this woman. In return, she nodded, and gave polite thanks.

"Haruka?" Setsuna called before exiting out the front door. "Yes?"

"Don't blow this chance; we seldom receive second chances as this one. Do as you will with this, but walk away with no regret having been given another opportunity." Again, Setsuna; with such maternal compassion and guidance, you couldn't go wrong with the time guardian.

"Thank you, Setsuna. I won't regret this; I'd only regret not trying." She gave a polite bow and escorted her out of the peaceful residence.

* * *

Michiru awoke once more out of her daze for the seemingly hundredth time; growing tired of waking constantly, seeing she was not in the fearful realm any longer, but also seeing no sign of Haruka. She felt her, she was close. She wanted to cry out for her, but hardly had the energy to do so. She rolled on to her side to face the window, in a painful motion, once again reminding her the inflicted wounds had not completely subsided quite.

"Dammit…why?" She cursed outloud, and with painful frustration she permitted a tear to escape.

"At least I can actually cry in peace here." She sobbed to herself. All she wanted was Haruka; in her arms, soothing her, kissing her.

"Michi…tears and obscenities only serve to mar you." Haruka said as she silently sat in the chair between Michiru's bed and her window. "But even they still can't touch your degree of beauty." She gazed at Michiru, deeply, as if to penetrate her soul.

"Haruka!" Michiru almost squealed with girlish delight; desiring nothing more than to crush the blonde with her dainty frame. She recalled the pain still involved in commanding her limbs, and decided against it. Michiru simply reached out for Haruka's hand, and rested it on her knee. Rubbing one another's hands sympathetically, reassuring one another they were not dreaming anymore.

"I know where you were, Haruka. I saw the same reality…" Michiru, reminisced on the pain of the realization of knowing she temporarily resided in a place where a world without Haruka was reality.

"It was hell, I kept telling myself." Haruka responded to her reassuring the fact she too felt despairing in her lucid dream. "An absolute living hell." Haruka re-emphasized.

"With flames and whatnot?" Michiru asked curiously, picturing a hellish type environment typically recalled in ideological studies. _Maybe she wasn't where I thought she was, _Michiru considered.

"No. It was beautiful; and at first, I thought it was heaven." Haruka said, trying to paint the picture of the beautiful place. "There was this, beautiful warm light…everywhere." "The same was for me as well; it reminded me so much of the sea's calming nature." Michiru said recalling the memory she envisioned of her and Haruka walking hand in hand on the shores of the sea.

This brought a blush to Michiru's face, with the recollection of that treasured memory. "But that didn't make it heaven." Haruka continued. "I realized within seconds, it was hell." Haruka got up from her seat on the chair, and painfully took to kneeling by Michiru's bedside, still holding firmly on to the girl's hand.

Michiru blushed even more profusely with this gesture. "I could have had a glorious F1 car, motorcycle, and endless stream of women and all the material wealth I could desire." Haruka paused once more for effect. "It would still be hell, Michiru; because you didn't exist for me to worship there."

Confirming what she suspected about the painful nature of their experiences, Michiru attempted to swing her legs over the bed and situate herself with Haruka on the floor, but struggled.

She simply threw herself at Haruka, arms around her neck, taking them both down.

"Michiru!" Haruka yelped out of concern. "Be careful; you're still weak."

Michiru just cried into Haruka's shoulder, and attempted to speak with the tears making it difficult. "Don't you get it, you idiot!?" Michiru shouted, clearly emotionally distraught, otherwise never calling Haruka name of any type like that.

"I…love you. I don't care what happens to me!"

Haruka was stunned; but after having been through the ordeal they'd been through, should she have expected something different? She took that moment to cradle Michiru in her arms, and gaze deeply into her eyes as she had so often done. But doing it differently this time, as she commanded attention from her for what she was about to reply. Michiru lifted a shaky hand to Haruka's cheek, caressing it lovingly.

Haruka took the smaller girl's hand in hers, kissing it, then bringing the girl close into her and sharing what would be their first kiss. The kiss was so gentle, but fueled by so much built up passion over not just the last few days, but since their first meeting. They had both desired each other, but understood the mission took precedence; to everything. They both hated the fact they had so very nearly lost each other, and knew they could no longer ignore the pangs of love in their hearts for each other. They also knew without having endured the strife they had, their shared kiss in other circumstances would have been still so meaningful, but empty at the same time. Their struggle together had strengthened their love.

As they parted, they simply looked at each other; blissfully.

Haruka gave Michiru her trademark smile; knowing this would set her at ease. "Hey." Haruka said, attempting to capture Michiru's attention; as if there was any question whether she had it.

"Hey." Michiru responded.

"I love you" Haruka uttered, with absolute sincerity and seriousness dripping out of the words; a side to Haruka scarcely seen. Michiru's heart practically exploded; she knew if Ami was here with her stethoscope, she would have jumped out of her skin at the sound of Michiru's heart skipping a beat or two or three.

Michiru leaned in and kissed her love again, and rested her head on the girl, as they lay sprawled on the ground. "It's about time, Haruka."

Haruka grinned, and agreed. "I'm sorry it took so long…" she said regretfully; aware in the realm she did nothing but think of her regret on her lost chance of love with this woman. Michiru shook her head at the taller girl. "I don't blame you, Haruka…it is a mutual relationship. I had so much courage; but for the wrong things."

They could do nothing but lay there and hold each other; it seemed perfectly appropriate for the moment. Haruka sat herself up, taking Michiru with her, and gathered the smaller girl in her arms. Standing, gradually from the slight pain, Haruka placed Michiru on the bed once more.

Michiru frowned at this; "Are you leaving me?" Haruka laughed at this. "We share this home, don't you remember that?" She beamed her brilliant smile at her siren. "The ground, even with you, is comfortable for only so long." Michiru agreed, and ushered the blonde into her bed.

"Michiru Kaioh; how immoral of you to insist on a woman coming into your bed; and without a proper date first." Haruka chided the girl playfully, smiling all the while. Michiru rolled her eyes, and then considered a thought. "Oh, Haruka you just reminded me…speaking of being a flirt…" Suddenly recalling the blonde's promise upon Michiru's awakening. "Hmm?"

"How do you feel about your new pledge of _not_ flirting with women?" Michiru inquired playfully, with a expanding smile. She really didn't care; she was just thrilled to be sharing a life with her partner once more.

"To be fair, love…" she looked at the other girl, thoughtfully, deeply as before. Then unleashed a grin befitting her; "I said I wouldn't flirt with girls; I said nothing about women!"


End file.
